I was reading an article in Fast Company when I came across some research showing something I had suspected in a general way. It said “individuals connected to disparate clusters of people have more creative ideas than those with homogenous, closed social networks.” It’s based on an aspect of network science called “brokerage,” pioneered by Professor Ronald S. Burt at the University of Chicago.

I have observed over the years that people who explore diverse ideas, areas, people, processes, etc. seem to make more integrated and novel creative connections. Such people are a kind of variety people, and “individuals connected to disparate clusters of people” are a kind of subset of the people I’m talking about. So the research shows, you may well boost your creativity by being the kind of variety person who is connected to disparate clusters of people!

Here’s the link to the full article, about an…